21 arrests in Wellington Police/Customs Operation

21 arrests, $20,000 of methamphetamine seized and $300k
house restrained

Thursday, 19 June 2014

Over the
past seven days, Wellington District Police and the New
Zealand Customs Service have deployed more than 60 staff in
a prevention-focussed operation targeting organised crime
and drugs. Detectives, dog handlers, public safety officers
and members of Police specialised units were deployed in
Wellington, Porirua, Tawa, the Kapiti Coast and the Hutt
Valley.

The intelligence-led operation code named
Operation Python and was targeted at disrupting criminal
activity in the community and was supported by New Zealand
Customs around a number of drug importations involving the
internet.

Twenty-nine search warrants were executed which
has lead to the arrest of 21 people aged between 21 and 52
years. As a result of the evidence located they will be
appearing before the courts on charges that including
serious drug dealing, receiving stolen property and
possession of firearms.

The drugs seized included
methamphetamine, cocaine, LSD, GBL, MDMA and cannabis. At a
Wellington address Police located a significant haul of
stolen property, $20,000 worth of methamphetamine and a
large number of swords. A house in Tawa valued at more than
$300,000 has also been restrained by the Central Asset
Recovery Unit.

Detective Inspector Darrin Thomson says
“This has been a whole-of-Police approach using all our
staff’s expertise to have the maximum impact on those
involved in illicit drug trafficking, trading weapons and
other related crime.”

“We are very concerned at the
joint seizures of drugs and firearms which have the very
real potential to lead to tragedy. At one address we found a
cache of firearms that presents a real risk to Police staff
and the community. We certainly take a zero tolerance
approach to this offending.”

“Police will act with
urgency to identify those involved and seize the opportunity
to reduce the risk and hold those responsible to
account.”

During the course of the investigation Police
worked closely with Customs and identified that there were
people importing drugs through the internet. As a result of
our ongoing joint work in this area, six arrests relating to
the importation of methamphetamine, cocaine, and
amphetamines were made during the Operation.

Detective
Inspector Darrin Thomson added “Our message to those
involved in using the internet for this purpose is that
Customs and Police are actively investigating this method
and we will continue to take action where appropriate.
People may think it is somehow anonymous but we can assure
you that this technique is being actively
monitored.”

“Over the past few days we have seen a
number of people who would not fit the usual profile of a
drug importer get themselves caught up in serious offending.
This has had a devastating impact on their
families.”

Operation Python is part of the Wellington
Districts ongoing commitment to preventing the harm caused
by drugs and the danger that weapons present to community
safety in the wrong hands. Over the past seven years close
to 600 arrests have been made, dozens of firearms and
weapons have been taken off the streets and millions of
dollars of assets restrained and drugs seized.

Supposedly, Winston Peters’ victory in Northland has exposed the simmering dissatisfaction with the government that exists out in the provinces. Yet it remains to be seen whether this defeat will have much significance – and not simply because if and when Labour resumes business as usual in the Northland seat at the next election, Peters’ hold on it could simply evaporate.

On Saturday, National’s electorate vote declined by 7,000 votes, as the 9,000 majority it won last September turned into a 4,000 vote deficit – mainly because Labour supporters followed the nod and wink given by Labour leader Andrew Little, and voted tactically for Peters. In the process, Labour’s vote went down from nearly 9,000 votes six months ago, to only 1,315 on Saturday. More>>

The National Party Government has today revealed that the national environmental report topics for this year will, incredibly, exclude New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Green Party said today. More>>

ALSO:

Reports that German privacy laws may have contributed to the Germanwings air crash have prompted New Zealand’s Privacy Commissioner to reassure the public that the Privacy Act is no impediment to medical practitioners notifying appropriate authorities to a pilot’s health concerns. More>>

The settlement includes a $13.5 million payment the government made in June 2013, as well as land in the Taranaki region. The settlement also includes four culturally significant sites, the Waipakari Reserve, Te Kohinga Reserve, Te Ngutu o te Manu and Te Poho o Taranaki. More>>

Supposedly, New Zealand’s destiny lies in Asia, and that was one of Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s rationales for his bungled reforms at MFAT. OK. So, if that’s the case why didn’t Prime Minister John Key attend the state funeral on Sunday of Singapore’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew? More>>

The panel choosing the flag options has no visual artists at all. Now, I’ve kerned the odd ligature in my time and I know my recto from my French curve so I thought I’d offer a few suggestions before they get past their depth. More>>

ALSO:

In releasing two reports today, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has highlighted a number of significant problems with the way in which Police deal with people who are detained in Police cells. More>>

The complaints follow recent public allegations about GCSB activities. The complaints, and these public allegations, raise wider questions regarding the collection, retention and sharing of communications data. More>>

ALSO:

Professor Jane Kelsey: ‘As anticipated, the deal gives foreign investors from the TPPA countries special rights, and the power to sue the government in private offshore tribunals for massive damages if new laws, or even court decisions, significantly affected their bottom line’. More>>

Gordon Campbell: The myth of competence that’s been woven around Steven Joyce – the Key government’s “Minister of Everything” and “Mr Fixit” – has been disseminated from high-rises to hamlets, across the country... More>>